Fighting For All You Love
by DragonofDoom3
Summary: Naraku's heart has gathered enough power to create his own body, and overcome Naraku! And he plans to use Kagome's and Kikyo's powers to strengthen him even further! Whom will InuYasha ultimatly save?
1. Naraku's Heart

_Thud. Thud. Thud. _The sound of fast-moving feet rang throughout the quiet forest. The swish of a haori as it rustled in the air was heard, and then gone, in an instant. All that was left was the fear and pain of a troubled soul.

The stars twinkled up ahead as InuYasha rushed through the open hills. He had been running for a full 3 days now, no stopping, not even for water. He ignored his body ravaging against its maltreatment, he could only think of one thing. _Kagome…_He tried not to think about how all this had happened, just 3 days ago, though it felt like an eternity.

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"MOURYOUMARU!" InuYasha yelled, staring up ferociously at his hated enemy. Mouryoumaru stood up before InuYasha, his face, the only human-like part of him, twisted in a cruel smirk. 

"I see Naraku's saimuyshou led you here well." he said smugly.

"Why did you lead us out here!" asked Miroku, holding the beads surrounding his kazaana tightly. "Do you think you're going to kill us?"

Mouryoumaru smirked again, and said, "I called you here to show you something, so that you know that I've increased in power, and it's virtually impossible to stop me!"

There was a flash of light from inside Mouryoumaru, and suddenly he appeared to burst. The light grew tremendously bright, so that everyone had to shield their eyes so not turn blind. Then abruptly, the light died, and Mouryoumaru had disappeared. But in his place, was a young man, withneck-long, clean cut,white hair, thin, purple eyes, wearing a black kimono. He brandished a long, black metal spear, with a dark pearl at the end, which had a small krink in it, like it was missing some pieces.

_"The Shikon no Tama!"_ thought Kagome.

"What happened to Mouryoumaru?" asked Sango, surprised. The man smiled harshly, and said, "My name is Kanaye, and now that I have enough power to survive by myself, I have no need of Mouryoumaru."

Suddenly Kagome froze in fear. That face…it was the baby! Naraku's heart! "InuYasha, it's Naraku's heart!" she yelled. InuYasha faced Kanaye angrily. This was the moment, if he managed to destroy Kanaye, he would destroy Naraku once and for all.

"You're Naraku's heart, aren't you?" he yelled out across to Kanaye.

"You guess right," smirked Kanaye, "I am indeed Naraku's heart. But now he has no control over me. I've managed to steal the Shikon no Tama from him, and used it to my own advantage. He's a fool, thinking he could contain me for long. It's his own undoing, because now, I'm stronger than him!"

Kanaye rose the spear above his head, and a dark ball appeared near the tip of it. "Now you will taste my true power!" he yelled as he shot the ball towards InuYasha.

InuYasha pulled Tessiaga out of it's scabbard, and rose it above his head as well, watching for a second as the winds of power swirled around it. "BAKURUYHAAA!" he yelled, and the winds formed together to make one giant whirlwind that head straight on to Kanaye's dark ball. Bakuruyhaa turned the dark ball back towards Kanaye, but instead of forcing it against it's master, it returned to the spear, Kanaye laughing.

"You fool! Thinking that such an attack would defeat me!" he yelled, sending 5 new balls hurling towards InuYasha. He tried to return them using Bakuruyha, but one of them escaped pass him, going straight for Kagome.

"MIROKU!" InuYasha yelled, but the monk was already in front of Kagome, unveiling his Kazaana. He sucked in the ball, but suddenly 10 saimoyshou appeared, and he sucked them in as well. He resisted the poison for a while, but then sank to the ground, twitching in pain as the poison of the saimoyshou coursed through his body.

"Miroku!" yelled Kagome, and crouched down next to Miroku. Even though he was in pain, he still managed to smile. "A-are you ok, Kagome-sama?" he asked. "Yes, but you've been poisoned badly Miroku." she said. Sango flew over to Miroku in an instant on Kirara, and jumped down to help him. "Hoshi-sama!" she said worriedly, holding Miroku up.

"D-don't worry about me…look after Kagome-sama…I'll be ok…" he said, looking at Sango softly.

Suddenly, a growl of pain rose to the sky. Kagome looked up to see InuYasha being lashed at by what looked like streaks of wind. The Tessaiga was green and dragon-scaled, and she instantly knew what had happened. She ran like the wind to InuYasha, full of fear.

Seeing that Miroku had reached Kagome in time, InuYasha turned to Kanaye, furious. "Bastard..." he growled, while Kanaye narrowed his eyes, yet he still curled his lips up in a dark sneer.He jumped up into the air,and InuYasha readied Tessiaga for an attack. But suddenly Kanaye disappeared.

"Bastard, where do you think you're running to!" snarled InuYasha, looking around him for a trace of Kanaye.

"Why, I'm right here," InuYasha heard a voice say behind him. He turned around just in time to see Kanaye in the air above him, raising his weapon to strike him. InuYasha rushed Tessiaga in front of him, forcing spear and sword against each other with a loud _CLANG! _From the impactof the two weapons a huge shock of electricity formed, forcing the two to fly back from each other. InuYasha did a quick back-flip and landed on his feet, waiting for the next attack, while Kanaye landed gracefully on the ground.

Kanaye took up his spear again, and swung it in front of him. Suddenly a cloud of smoke came up, which took form of a crimson snake, with sharp red eyes and long, piercing teeth which had black poison dripping from them, and rushed towards InuYasha. InuYasha raised Tessiaga and yelled, "KAZE NO KIZU!" The streaks of light shot out from Tessiaga, and met head on with the dark snake-like creature. But even when cut through,the snake just reformed itself, and continued onwards.

InuYasha thought quickly ofan attack he hadn't used yet. _"Dragon-Scaled Tessiaga..." _he thought. For a second he thought of the last time he had tried to use it while fighting the _Dokumizuchi_, a large snake-like creature that he had fought before, andhow he had gotten critically injured by Tessiaga. But he had no choice now, he had to try it. He concentrated hard, and Tessiaga's blade changed from it's metal blade to a scale-like blade. The snake was a mere meter away from him when it got sucked into InuYasha's blade. It gave a loud scream, and there was nothing.

Then Tessiaga got burning hot. "Shit!"said InuYasha as he struggled to hold onto it, the handle searing his hands. InuYasha ignored the pain, and focused on letting out the snake poison that was now in Tessiaga. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" he yelled, while shooting the poison right back at Kanaye. But instead of hitting him, Kanaye just sucked it back into his spear.

"Heh, don't you realize you can't use any of my attacks against me?" Kanaye said, tauntingly. InuYasha stood, panting slightly.

_"He's got to have a weakness, somewhere."_ he thought.

Suddenly, Tessiaga became even more burning hot than before. Streaks of wind shot out of it, and attacked InuYasha, surrounding his body. It was like hot knives burning into his skin. He couldn't help but yell in pain. The winds went away, leaving InuYasha's chest and face scarred. But he didn't collapse, he couldn't let himself give in. Not yet. Kanaye stood staring at him the entire time, his face full of a sadistic pleasure.

"Kagome-sama!" yelled Sango, afraid that she would get hurt by one of Kanaye's black orbs. "Kirara, go after her!" she told the large cat-demon, who took of in a flash. She flew down low to Kagome, and gave a small growl for her to grab on. Kagome understood, and jumped on quickly. Kirara gave a snarl and flew straight up, the wind ruffling through her hair. She raced over to where InuYasha was, burned and struggling to fend of Kanaye's attacks.

"It's obvious you haven't mastered the Dragon-Scaled Tessaiga yet." said Kanaye. "Heh, no surprise, you are but a simple hanyou. But I am amazed that you haven't died yet, since your own sword has turned against you.. " InuYasha gritted his teeth and yelled, "Bastard, Tessaiga would never betray me! KONGUSHOHAA!"

Millions of diamond shards flew out of Tessiaga, aimed straight at Kanaye. _"This has to at least touch him.."_ thought InuYasha.

Kanaye smirked and drew a circle in the air with his spear. A force field appeared before him, repelling ever single one of Kongushoha's diamond shards.

_"Shit,they didn't evenget past his fucking barrier." _Thought InuYasha angrily. Suddenly he felt a gust of air behind him, and heard Kagome's voice.

"InuYasha!" she cried, and ran over to his side, her eyes full of fear for him. "KAGOME, GET BACK!" InuYasha yelled at her, afraid that she would get hurt by Kanaye. He looked at Kanaye, who's eyes had narrowed.

_"That woman…" _he thought. For a second, his eyes flickered with fear.

Kagome stared at Kanaye, and strung an arrow on her bow, saying, "InuYasha, what's giving him all his power is the Shikon no Tama, if I can just purify it…"

Kagome let go, and the arrow flew straight and true, but Kanaye jumped in the air quickly, moving the spear away from danger. "It's not going to make it…" said Kagome downheartedly, but InuYasha stood in front of her, raising Tessaiga.

"HELL YA IT WILL, KAZE NO KIZU!" he yelled, letting 5 yellow streaks of light fly towards the arrow, engulfing it, and becoming on giant streak of light.

_"No…" _thought Kanaye. He wouldn't let himself be killed that easily. He could feel the power of Kagome's arrow and Kaze no Kizu approach him, and he instantly disappeared, letting the arrow fly into the distance, until it could be seen no more.

"Shit…" said InuYasha, staring at the sky full of hatred. "That bastard got away like a fucking coward." Suddenly he fell to the ground, shocked with pain that he had ignored through out the heat of the battle.

"InuYasha, you're really hurt!" said Kagome, stopping InuYasha from falling over completely.

"It's…nothing…" said InuYasha, his mind consumed by the rage of not killing Kanaye, trying to ignore the constant pain that seared his body. He had failed, and that's all that he could think about.

Then sun settled low in the sky, ready to die as it did everyday, the last of its rays disappearing behind the mountains, and night began its reign. Underneath a clump of trees, a weary band settled for a night of well-needed sleep.

_"Dammit…"_ thought InuYasha as Kagome tended to his wounds. _"If only he hadn't escaped…fucking coward…"_.

Kagome looked at InuYasha worriedly. He was never this quiet. She finished bandaging his chest, and asked, "Is something…bothering you, InuYasha? It's…not about the battle, is it?" InuYasha stared at his burned hands, and said quietly, "We were so close to finishing Naraku of…" He said irritably. He thrust his hands down in disgust with himself.

"It isn't your fault," said Kagome, placing her hands on top of InuYasha's. InuYasha calmed down a bit, soothed by Kagome's soft words. "I almost let you get hurt today…" he said quietly, thinking about the black orb that had almost gotten to Kagome, had it not been for Miroku.

He felt Kagome scoot closer to him, and lay her head on his shoulder. "Why do you worry so much about me?" she asked. InuYasha felt his heart beat a little faster, unsure of what to say. They sat in silence for a while, InuYasha avoiding Kagome's face.

He turned to look at Kagome, and said, "It's…"

Then he noticed that she was asleep.

He smiled softly, and looked up at the stars, comforted that at least Kagome believed in him, even if he did not.

On the other side of the campfire, Sango stayed up, dabbing Miroku's damp face with a cloth. He was sleeping, but feverish, from the poison he had received from the saimoyshou. Sango looked at the fire, troubled. She needed to talk to Miroku.

"Miroku," she murmured, watching as he turned fitfully in his sleep. "Sango…" said Miroku quietly, opening his eyes.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" said Sango, surprised. Miroku smiled, and said, "No, no, I could just hear you calling my name through my dreams." He looked at her, and saw her fretful thoughts through her face. "Sango, are you upset?"

Sango looked away, quiet. "Miroku, while I was looking after you, I thought I saw something in the forest."

Miroku looked at her confused, and asked, "What?"

Sango gulped down a small lump in her throat and whispered, "I thought I saw my brother, with Kikyo."


	2. Kanaye's Trap

**Ok, onto the next part! I didn't think I'd get reviews that quickly, and even though there's only two, they were both positive! Right, well, enough of my blabbering, let us continue…**

Chapter 2: Kanaye's Trap

Kagome woke up with InuYasha's haori over her. She knew from that moment that something was wrong. She made a move to stand up, but heard a little voice stop her.

"Kagome, don't move, please!" Shippo's voice cried out. Kagome paused to look at the little Kitsune, tugging at her skirt.

"InuYasha told me to keep you here, that I shouldn't let you go anywhere." He continued, looking pleadingly up at Kagome's face for her to stay.

Kagome crouched down to Shippo's level, and putting one hand on his shoulder asked, "Where has everyone else gone to?"

Shippo looked away, a little nervously. "Um…", he started, and taking a gulp said, "Sango thought she saw Kohaku and Kikyo in the forest before…and…y'know InuYasha…he went after her…"

Kagome tried to ignore the small pang in her heart at Kikyo's name, and Shippo, noticing Kagome's silence, gave her a small bundle of food wrapped in leaves. "You must be hungry, have breakfast, I cooked it myself!" he said, proud of himself.

Kagome smiled and opened the food bundle, revealing three cooked fish and a small batch of berries. "Thank you Shippo, you caught these yourself?"

"Mhmm, just this morning, and I found the berries over by the river." said Shippo happily. Kagome took a bite out of her fish, not realizing how hungry she actually was. She was half-way through, when she sensed something.

Kagome stood up, staring into a clump of trees. There was something there, she could feel it. She took out an arrow and strung it onto her bow. She took a few steps forward, ignoring Shippo's cries.

"Kagome, where are you going?" he squeaked, running to her side. She motioned for Shippo to be quiet. "There's something there, I can feel it…" she said. She pulled back…and let go.

Suddenly something reared up out of the bushes. It was like a large snake-like creature, with the top half of a horse, and dragon-like fiery eyes. It circled Kagome and Shippo, sending gusts of wind blowing around them. It gave a loud growl, and lunged at them, showing a set of razor sharp teeth.

Kagome grabbed another of her arrows and quickly shot it at the creature. The arrow flew through the air, piercing the demon squarly in the chest. But the demon didn't falter. It actually _laughed_. Suddenly it shrunk, and changed it's form. Kagome gasped.

Kanaye stood before her, his eyes laughing and full of malice. "I guess my trick worked well, conjuring up a fake Kikyo and Kohaku to lure your friends away from you. InuYasha is a fool, running from you the second he sees Kikyo-"

He was cut of by a flying arrow, moving at such force and speed that only because Kanaye quickly pulled out his spear and create a shield was he able to save himself. He smiled evilly.

"Touched a nerve, did I?" he said, smirking. Kagome pulled out another arrow, full of fiery anger. _"Don't let it get to you."_ a voice said in her head. _"It will only break your concentration."_ Kagome aimed at Kanaye's spear and fired. The arrow flew like a rocket, taking all her fury with it. Kanaye moved his spear to block it, but the arrow pushed against it's force field with all it's strength.

Kanaye made a move, and send the arrow flying back. Kagome fell to the ground to avoid the returned arrow. She dug her nails into the earth, and quickly got up again. The laughter in Kanaye's eyes was gone, replaced by a dark hatred.

"I let you escape me once, it won't happen again." he hissed, grabbing his spear firmly. He set the end of the spear towards Kagome, and narrowing his eyes, swiped it in the air, sending a row of dark, fiery daggers at them. Kagome grabbed Shippo and hid under InuYasha's haori, as the daggers formed in a circle around them, making a sphere of fire around them. Kagome shut her eyes, the heat too much. She could feel someone enter the circle. She forced to open her eyes, and saw Kanaye. He was laughing again, staring down at her. She could feel his presence overwhelm her, make her blind.

"You're purity cannot stand the evil I bring, so it blinds your soul, drains your powers of all hope. You have _nothing_ left."

Kagome forced herself to look up at him, and open her eyes. The heat burned her skin, but she did not flinch. She tried to stand up, but Kanaye was right, his presence had made her weak. She could feel someone hugging her, crying, saying, "Kagome, please get up, please move, we can't stay here!" Shippo's voice cried out to her from the darkness.

Kagome couldn't move, couldn't talk back. Kanaye moved closer to her, about to say something when suddenly he stopped. Kagome closed her eyes, almost entirely exhausted at her efforts. "Curse you woman, you still have enough strength to try and purify the poisoned Shikon no Tama. We'll see if you can still do that after I've taken all your powers!"

Kagome felt something bite her in the arm. She opened her eyes wide and tried to cry out, but then she fell to black.


	3. A Tale of Two Mikos

**Ok, just to do a quickie explanation to why Kohaku is traveling with Kikyo, to all those who haven't read the manga (I like to keep up with the manga regularly, and much of this story is based on what the characters are doing at the time). Kikyo figures that the only way to kill Naraku is to complete the Shikon no Tama and then purify it, along with Naraku. Well, she needs ALL the pieces, including Kohaku's. Kohaku, wanting revenge on Naraku, agrees to give up his fragment, so he travels with Kikyo, looking for other fragments. Kikyo doesn't really want to take Kohaku's life, so they haven't done much in that direction. But anyyyyyhow, that's why they're now travel buddies. Ok on with the story! Hope ya like it! **

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Kagome woke up, on a cold, cold ground. She lay on the ground for a second, feeling dizzy, weak. She still had InuYasha's haori around her. Somehow, she felt that give her strength. Slowly, she raised herself up, and righted herself in a sitting position. She then noticed that she wasn't near the campsite anymore. Fear gripped her heart, and she felt her mind racing. Where was she, what was going on, where was Kanaye? She felt a sharp pang of pain race through her arms. She looked down at her sleeve, and noticed that it was covered in blood. She slowly rolled back her sleeve, revealing two large bite marks in her arm. _"The last thing I felt…" _she thought, _"…was something bite me…where am I?"_

She looked around herself, squinting through the darkness. She seemed to be in a large room, made with black pentacles surrounding the walls. She slowly stood up, steadying herself. She felt stronger now, so she was sure that Kanaye was gone. She touched the walls, but pulled back quickly with a small cry as she felt the sting of electricity course through her hand. She stepped back, cradling her injured hand. She looked around herself, trying to find some door, or hole in the wall, some way that shows how she got in, and perhaps could get her out. There was none. She started to feel dizzy, and fell to the floor, trying to think clearly, but she couldn't think well at all. She could feel the occasional pang of pain, emitting from somewhere deep around her heart. Everything seemed to be a blur; she thought that she was going to throw up. _"I have to get out of here, have to find InuYasha…"_ she thought.

Suddenly she heard a small voice cry out. "Kagome!" said Shippo, rushing up to her. "Shippo…are you alright? How'd you get here?" asked Kagome, hugging the little kitsune. "When Kanaye took you away, I managed to hide under InuYasha's haori with you. I couldn't leave you alone Kagome, not with him!" Kagome smiled, and looked at Shippo seriously. "Shippo, do you know where we are?" Shippo looked unsurely around him. "I-I'm not sure…I think we're in a prison of some sort…" he answered."I think the walls are s'posed to keep you in, that's why there are all those weird signs on them…"

Kagome suddenly got a thought. "Shippo, do they know that you are here?" she asked. Shippo shook his head. "Do you think you can break through the walls, and get out?" Shippo gulped, and nodded. "First, touch the walls; see if they do anything to you." said Kagome, afraid that the same effect that befell her would happen to Shippo. She didn't want him to get hurt. But it was their only chance to escape. Shippo walked nervously up to the walls, and reached out his hand. It shook slightly, an inch away from the wall. Shippo concentrated and thought, _"Be brave, be brave…for Kagome."_ He closed his eyes, and made contact with the wall.

Meanwhile…

Kikyo scanned her eyes across the open field, looking down to her old village. She felt a pang of nostalgia as she stood there, feeling the wind ruffle through her hair. This place…she had tried to avoid it before, it brought back to many memories, things that she had wanted to forget. But, somehow, in the back of her mind, this placed comforted her, made her feel like she was coming back home. She closed her eyes, letting the wind flow through her, cleanse her soul. Kohaku stood behind her, waiting patiently for her to start moving down.

He knew that he shouldn't ask, but he felt curious. "Kikyo-sama…was this…" "My old village, yes." Kohaku looked at her, surprised at her quick answer. He was about to ask why they were there when Kikyo answered his question before it finished crossing his mind. "I need to warn InuYasha; tell him to keep Kagome hidden for a few days…if not everyone will fall into a great peril. A new evil has arisen, and if that evil manages to get Kagome's spiritual powers…there is no telling what can happen." Kohaku looked back at the village, and understood why Kikyo had been so secretive lately, hiding in the forest, and not coming out until now. He realized that even though Kikyo did not say it, she knew that she was in danger as well, and it was incredible risky for her to be out here in the open.

"It's…that baby…Naraku's heart, isn't it?" asked Kohaku. Kikyo nodded. "He's managed to overcome his own master, and steal the Shikon no Tama, incrementing his powers. But he won't rest until he has completed the jewel, and adds Kagome's power to it." Kikyo stood facing the village, and started taking a few steps down the grassy slope. Kohaku followed obediently, gripping the handle of his sickle (his scythe-like weapon) tightly. He felt his heart pounding, afraid to see his sister again. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stand it. But he followed Kikyo anyhow, trying not to think about it.

She walked boldly into the village, ignoring the villager's stares as they froze when she passed by them. Some couldn't make out weather she was a ghost, or a kitsune in disguise. The old bowed down to her, while the young stared in wonder, looking at the spiritual miko. Kikyo ignored them, and went to straight to Kaede's hut.

She entered the hut, and found her younger sister stirring a small pot of stew on a warm fire. Kaede lifted her old eyes, and stared for a second of surprise at the return of her older sister. "Kikyo…" she said softly. Kohaku stood silently behind Kaede, looking around him for a sign of his sister. He silently prayed that he wouldn't have to see her.

"Is InuYasha here?" Kikyo asked. Kaede shook her head, "They left here three days ago, why would that bring you here?" asked Kaede, bewildered. Kikyo hid her sudden shock of fear coolly. "Come, Kohaku, we need to keep searching." she said trying not to appear hurried. She kept her mask of empty feelings, while inside of herself, for the first time, she was afraid.


	4. Sudden Loss

**Yay, thanks for the reviews! I'm soooo happy! Weeheehee. **

**Cold Kikyo: I like to try and add suspense to my chapters to make it more interesting, glad you like it!**

**IKnowNot: Yay, I'm glad you like the dialogue! I love deep rich dialogue. With lotsa emotions. Eh-heh. Also, thanks for the advice. I'll _try_ (no promises here) to stick to one character's POV from now on. Ya, I realize it can get confusing -sometimes…haha --'**

**Taeniaea: I'm glad you like it!**

**Midori09: Thanks!**

**Thanks for all the good reviews**

**Ok, I think it's time to find out what Sango, Miroku and InuYasha have been doing during this whole time. Enjoy.

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Sango watched anxiously as InuYasha sniffed the ground, trying to catch Kikyo's and Kohaku's scent. He gave one last sniff, and stood up, shaking his head. "There's no trace of them. Are you sure that you saw right?"

Sango nodded her head affirmatively. "I know what I saw, I'm sure it was them!" She wanted so desperately to find her brother, she was positive that he was there, somewhere. She looked deep into the forest, wishing with all her might for a glimpse of her brother, his soft brown hair, his light freckles, his eyes that she remembered so well that had that boyish light around them.

"Maybe they've moved away from here already," said Miroku, trying to alleviate the small flicker of pain that Sango had in her eyes.

Sango sighed; the hope that she had felt when she had first saw her brother gone, like a candle that had been blown out. "I guess we should go back to the campsite then…" she said, and called up Kirara, and climbed on, Miroku going on after her.

"We'll find your brother Sango, I promise." whispered Miroku in her ear. Sango felt comforted slightly at that. She looked down at her hands, and said quietly, "Thank you, houshi-sama." He touched her hand affectionately; worried for the woman he loved. Sango smiled, and looked straight ahead, a new hope in her heart.

"Let's go," said InuYasha, running ahead. Kirara flew up behind him. As they ran back to the campsite, InuYasha felt a strange feeling in his gut that not all was right. _"That day…why couldn't I have smelled Kikyo and Kohaku's scent…?" _He felt a sense of panic, and started running faster, a voice in his head screaming for him to hurry, that something was terribly wrong.

Suddenly a scent hit him like a shockwave. He stopped, his heart beating furiously in his chest. "What's wrong?" asked Miroku. "Kanaye…" growled InuYasha, and started running at full speed, adrenaline and fear rushing through his veins. They reached the campsite, and InuYasha pulled out Tessiaga at furious speed. "KANAYE!" he yelled, thrusting Tessiaga down on the ground and sending rays of light shooting through the campsite, forming huge holes in the ground, and spraying dirt everywhere. InuYasha stood before the destruction, panting heavily, rage and fury overcoming him. He looked around for Kanaye's malicious smirk, but saw nothing. There was silence for a second, except for the quiet falling of leaves that had been disturbed by InuYasha's attack.

It was Sango who broke the quiet.

"Th-there's no one…here…" she said, her heart hammering in her chest. "Kagome, Shippo…they're…gone."

InuYasha stared in disbelief at the scene. _"Kagome…" _he thought, numbed for a second with the realization of it all. Kanaye's scent hung around the campsite like a sickness. He knew in an instant what had happened. His grip around Tessiaga tightened, trying to control the fiery hell of rage that was bubbling in him. Kagome…Kanaye had kidnapped her, he was sure of it. He was so stupid to have left her alone. He cursed himself again and again for his stupidity, gritting his teeth, and trying to control the rage that he had in him, telling himself that when he saw Kanaye, he would let it be unleashed on him without mercy.

He turned to Miroku and Sango, who were looking at him with worried looks. "We have to find them. Now." said InuYasha, his eyes hidden, sliding Tessaiga back into its scabbard. Miroku nodded. Sango remained quiet.

_"This is my fault…"_ she thought quietly.

Kagome and Shippo…

Shippo waited for a second for the shock of electricity. He waited for a second, his eyes squeezed shut. He felt nothing. He opened one eye, and patted the wall a few times. He opened both eyes, and patted the wall with both his hands. He turned to Kagome, beaming. "It's ok!" he yelled happily. Kagome looked at him quickly for him to quieten, but smiled, with a new hope that she would get out.

She motioned for him to come closer, and whispered, "Shippo, listen carefully. Make a hole small enough for you to get through, and get out of here as fast as you can. Then try and find InuYasha." Shippo nodded, taking in her every word. "You can count on me Kagome." he said. "I won't leave you in this horrible place for long, I promise." Kagome hugged the brave kitsune, and whispered, "Thank you, Shippo." She then pulled InuYasha's haori off of her, and tried to tug a piece off of it. To her surprise, the piece ripped off easily in her hands. She then wrapped it around Shippo, saying, "This will protect you while you escape. Please be careful Shippo." Shippo nodded again, and said, "I'll be brave, you can count on me." Kagome nodded, her eyes full of faith in him.

Shippo turned to the wall, and crept closely to it. He pulled out his spinning top, and let it fly, but was careful to not let it grow larger than him. The top made a small hole through the wall easily, and returned back to Shippo when it was done. Shippo looked back at Kagome one last time, and thinking over and over to himself, _"Be brave, be brave…" _he crept through the wall into the outside world.

**Kagome's POV…**

Kagome watched as Shippo crawled through the small hole, and disappeared. She then picked up InuYasha's haori, and tugged it around her. It made her feel safe, as if he was there with her. She silently prayed that Shippo didn't get caught, and that he would make it to InuYasha safely.

Suddenly, she heard a Kanaye's voice. "Thought that you could escape by letting that puny kitsune get away and go find InuYasha? Ha, he'll never find the way back. This place is secluded behind a magical barrier that can't be found by anyone, not even a powerful youkai. They'll never find you…"

Kagome felt weak, like a blackness was overcoming her soul. She tried to look behind her, but felt like all her spiritual energy was being drained. "K-kanaye.." she whispered, and could feel the throbbing pain return to her heart. She felt two hands clasp her arms, and just saw a pair of purple eyes staring into hers before blacking out.

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**BOOYAH, CLIFFHANGER! Hahaa, I'm sorry, I love cliff hangers. Anyhow, I hoped you liked it! I'll put a new one up tomorrow, so don't fret.**

**Bye for now.. **


	5. Stolen Shards

**Ok, onto the next bit! I added a new bit that was s'posed to happen in the previous chapter, but I didn't think of it at the time. You'll recognize it when it comes. Anyways, enjoy!

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Shippo blinked a few times, sunlight pouring onto his face. He stood up, finding himself on a steep slope, with rocks and trees littered carelessly on the way down. He looked behind him, expecting to see some sort of structure with a hole through it, but there was nothing, just a large rock. _"How am I gonna remember where I was?" _he thought, looking forward. He pulled out all the little tricks and toys out of his pocket, and spread them on the ground. _"Ha, I know, I'll leave my mushrooms as a trail to the way back. Don't worry Kagome!"_

He stuck all the rest of his trinkets back in his pocket, and taking a deep breath, started a furious scurry down the mountainside, dropping mushrooms along the way. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, surprised that nothing else was coming after him. That made him nervous, and he increased his speed. Suddenly an unexpected rock crossed his path, causing him to trip over it, sending him flying. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" yelled Shippo, flailing his arms helplessly as he came closer and closer to ground. He landed with a soft _thud_, tumbling over a few times before finally stopping at the foot of the mountain.

For a second he lay there, bruised and scratched, when he felt a shadow overcome him. He looked up, and suddenly saw a huge swarm of flying, serpent-like demons come towards him. "ACK!" he yelled and stood up, running like a frightened hare underneath them. They turned around, jaws snapping, and flew straight after Shippo, who was running with all that was good in him. "INUYASHA!" he cried, tears of fear falling down his cheeks. One of the serpents flew down in front of him, its mouth wide open, as if planning to eat him. Shippo turned around quickly, and started running back, but was blocked off by the other serpents. They began flying in a fast circle around him. Shippo froze, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, he saw a figure appear before him. His eyes grew wide as he saw Kanaye's narrowed eyes burn into his.

"You little nuisance, hiding with Kagome the entire time. I should kill you right now, but what is the point? I don't feel like wasting my energy on you, you pathetic little kitsune. You'll never find your way back here, not even with your idiotic little tricks."

Shippo felt anger build up in him. "I'm not pathetic, I will find my way back with InuYasha, and he'll kill you!" His words were juvenile, almost worthless, and only caused Kanaye to laugh.

"You're as pathetic as you look." he said, smirking with amusement. Suddenly his smirk turned to a scowl as he noticed something. He pointed his spear at Shippo, causing him to be suddenly levitated in the air, and turned upside down. "So Kagome thought she'd hide the jewel shards with you, did she?" he said, moving the spear slightly, and causing all of the contents of Shippo's pockets to be emptied. A small glass container fell out, with 3 glimmering shards in them. Shippo squirmed in the air, trying to break free of Kanaye's spell. _"No,"_ he thought, _"He found them!"_ Shippo remembered Kagome slipping them secretly into his pocket before he left. Kanaye pointed his spear at them, and the container broke. As if by magnetism, the shards joined the rest of the Shikon no Tama.

Three pulses emitted from Kanaye's spear, as it incremented in power. Kanaye smiled, and gave his spear a quick flick, causing Shippo to fall on the ground. Kanayehit him once, making Shippo give a small whimper, and whispered, "There are only four shards left to be added. Once I have them all, I'll make sure that there aren't any more pesky kitsunes left in this world to annoy me further."

With that he disappeared, taking the serpent demons with him.

Shippo laid there, tears running down his face. He had failed Kagome by letting Kanaye take the shards that she had entrusted him with. He banged his little fists into the ground, telling himself that he would make Kanaye pay.

But he knew that he was wasting his time here. He needed to get moving again, and make up for his lost time. He stood up, and wiping away his tears, resumed his quest for InuYasha.

Kikyo watched all of this from her vantage point near the peak of the mountain. Kohaku stood behind her, his sickle at the ready to be used at any moment. Anger rushed through his blood. That monster had taken in 3 shards, and yet Kikyo had done nothing.

"Why did you just stand there and watch as he became more powerful! We should've stopped him!" he yelled at Kikyo.

Kikyo ignored Kohaku for a second, and without removing her eyes from the scene said, "I can't let him know that we're here. If not, he will go straight for your shard, Kohaku. You don't want to sacrifice that, at least not yet. Our mission now is to find Kagome before Kanaye adds her powers to his. We will have to wait."

Kohaku understood Kikyo's reasoning, but his demon-slaying instincts screamed at him to go head on and fight Kanaye. He tried to push them out of his mind, but his efforts were futile. So he stood with Kikyo, nervous and fidgety, itching to send his sickle straight into Kanaye's back. He knew that by that way, he'd kill Naraku, and then end his sister's suffering.

Kikyo watched until the little kitsune had disappeared, and turned towards Kohaku, saying "Let's go." Kohaku followed obediently, trailing after Kikyo as she went climbed down the mountain.

Suddenly she paused, before a large rock. He was about to ask why they had stopped, when Kikyo strung an arrow into her bow, and let it fly. It hit the rock directly in its center, and suddenly the whole mountainside seemed to disappear, showing a large castle in its place. _"It was all an illusion…"_ thought Kohaku. The wind whistled through his hair, sending chills down to his bones. The castle was guarded by a magical barrier, but the area where Kikyo had hit with her arrow was open, yet closing slowly every second.

"We're almost there." said Kikyo, and stepped through the barrier.

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**Well, there was part 5, sorry if it was somewhat short, but believe me, longer parts are going to come. I also know there seems to be about 4 different scenes going on right now, but they'll all join up together soon as to not make it so confusing! Thanks for bearing with me --'. **


	6. Corrupted Soul

**Onto the next chapter! Here's where things start to get exciting…or so I hope. Enjoy.

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Rain pattered over the dark castle. The drops slid down the walls like blood, forming large, brown puddles. The sound of the rain echoed everywhere.

_Drip._ The quiet sound was heard once. It was dark, so very dark. Kagome opened her eyes, feeling cold, afraid. She sat up, and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Everything was hazy, mixed up, memories a messed up jumble in her head. InuYasha, the well, the Sacred Tree, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, the Shikon no Tama…pictures ran through her mind, yet she couldn't make sense of them. She couldn't understand her feelings; she only saw death, loneliness, darkness. She closed her eyes, trying to tell herself this was just a nightmare, just a…

She felt something pulse from inside her heart. Once, twice. Suddenly she felt as if something had injected a poison inside her, pain coursed through her body. Its venom spread through every inch of her veins, killing her, yet she was not dying. She felt as if all her powers, her very _soul _was being ripped from her body. She tried to yell out to scream, but nothing came out. She didn't move. She couldn't feel her heart. Her body was not being controlled by her; it was being controlled by someone else. A different kind of cold settled over her bones, a numb kind of cold.

She felt someone touch her face, and lift up her chin slightly. Kanaye's cold voice spoke. "It's too late, you are no longer in control of your own body. You are my puppet now, all your powers being transferred to me. I shall still give you life, for you can be proved as useful. InuYasha would never dare try to fight against you, even if you were to try and take his life."

He curled his lips up in a sick smile, and pulled his hand away from Kagome's face. There was no reaction now from the reincarnated miko. _"The corrupted shard that I injected into Kagome's body has taken full control. There is nothing she can do to purify it, for I have already drained her of her powers, and added it to the Shikon no Tama. It's amazing, the powers of this woman. They were enough to create two new shards, just out of nothing. That only leaves two more…_

Kanaye was well pleased with his plan.

Suddenly, his spear started pulsating violently. Kanaye scowled, knowing that this meant nothing good. "Come, Kagome." he said. The girl stood up, and followed Kanaye out of the dark room, down a long, stone corridor, and out the door.

Kohaku followed Kikyo across the ravaged courtyard. Dead demon bodies lay everywhere, their chests ripped open, as if someone had been searching for something deep inside their hearts. Kohaku gave an involuntary shudder, hoping that Kikyo wouldn't notice. Kikyo marched onward, not even showing the slightest reaction at the garden of death surrounding her.

Suddenly she stopped, and took a step back, stringing an arrow onto her bow. Kohaku grabbed his sickle, pulling it out of his belt-like sash, and prepared himself for a fight. He didn't have to wait long.

Kanaye appeared before them, a strange light of amusement in his eyes. "It was about time you came, Kikyo. I've heard much about you, and your spiritual powers. They're twice as powerful as Kagome's, aren't they? Heh, I think we should test that." He smirked, and Kagome walked to his side. Kikyo's heart quickened. _"I came too late!"_ she thought. The light that had been in Kagome's eyes before were gone, there was a deadness in them. In Kagome's hands a bow and an arrow materialized, and she quickly strung the arrow onto the bow, and aimed. A dark smoke surrounded the arrow, reflecting the power of the corrupted jewel in Kagome's body.

"You've managed to infect Kagome with a jewel shard, therefore controlling her mind and body completely, but what you don't realize is that Kagome's power can never be controlled completely, you won't be able to control her actions for long." said Kikyo, her hand trembling slightly on the handle of the bow. "You say my power is greater than hers, but how can you know what has never been shown before? Kagome does not know the true extent of her power, and when she does come to realize it, it will overcome you, and you will be destroyed."

Kanaye laughed, and said, "Well, let's help her 'realize' that power then." He pointed his spear at Kikyo. Kagome tightened her grip on the arrow, and released. It flew straight towards Kikyo, the black light shimmering around it. Kikyo didn't even show a flicker of fear, and just before the arrow reached her, she raised her bow, creating a force field between her and Kagome's arrow. But instead of being hindered by the force field, the arrow began pushing against it, and started to crack through. Kikyo grimaced, using all her power to keep the force field blocking Kikyo's arrow. Kohaku saw that Kikyo's efforts were waning, and just before the arrow managed to break entirely Kikyo's barrier, he rushed towards her and pulled her quickly out of the way, causing the barrier to disappear. The arrow flew onwards, cutting across Kikyo's arm, drawing blood, but not completing its original purpose.

Kikyo grasped her hurt arm for a second, and then picked up her bow, and strung an arrow onto it. She took aim for Kanaye, and let go. The arrow shot furiously in Kanaye's direction, but was broken halfway by another arrow shot by Kagome. Kanaye laughed.

"Heh, you can't fight against her, the shard has incremented her powers too much, and has turned them against you. You can't protect yourself anymore. Tonight Kikyo, you will die!"

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**Ooooh, another cliff hanger! Well, you'll have to wait until tomorrow, to see what happens, but don't worry, I won't leave you 'hanging' for too long…haha. Until then buh-bye for now!**


	7. True Potential

**Woooo, next part! **

**Oh, thanks for all my reviews, Taeniaea, Cold Kikyo, megijen123, you guys rock! Thank you soooo much! Hope you like this chapter!

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**

The full moon was at it's zenith in the sky, shining with the sun's borrowed light. The stars seemed to dim in it's surrounding beauty. Under it, the sounds of a ravaged hanyou could be heard in the otherwise quiet forest. Behind him, a large cat demon carrying two other people followed tirelessly.

InuYasha ran ahead, his mind consumed by only one thing; Kagome. He couldn't feel the brittle stones that crossed his feet, he didn't listen to Tessiaga's pulsing, telling him to calm down, that this dark fury that he was holding inside of him would only harm him in the end. InuYasha had controlled his anger so far, knowing that it was there, in his heart, in his mind, in his soul. At first this feeling had been directed at Kanaye, but it had taken a different turn. He now felt angry at himself, at his stupidity, at his blindness. _"I was, a fool to leave Kagome alone. It's my fault that…all this happened. Why do I continue to fail her, by not being there to protect her? Is my eagerness to see Kikyo so great that I leave to search for her at the very mention of her name? I promised to Kagome once that I wouldn't leave her again, yet I've gone back on my word, I lied to her. I am not worthy of her trust ever again…the only thing I can do is save her, and destroy Kanaye. After that…"_

He didn't want to think about it. He knew that it would break his heart to do so. So he continued, following Kanaye's scent through the thick forest, ignoring everything else.

Suddenly he got a smell of someone else's scent. He stopped, sniffing the air for a second. "What's wrong, InuYasha?" asked Miroku, Kirara landing on the ground. InuYasha's eyes grew wide for a second. "It's…"

He was cut off by the sound of the bushes rattling. Miroku stood up, holding the pearls around his kazaana tightly. Sango quickly grabbed her boomerang defensively, but stopped as something collapsed out of the bushes. "Shippo!" exclaimed Sango as she hopped off Kirara to tend to the poor kitsune. She picked him up, cradling him carefully in her arms. Shippo lay unconscious for a few seconds, scratches over his face and a bit of blood stained his furry vest. After a few seconds, his eyes flickered open. "Guys…" he croaked, trying to sit up. Sango smoothed him down again, "Shippo, relax for a second, and tell us what happened." Shippo nodded, and shut his eyes for a second. He opened them again, and started.

He told them of hiding with Kagome, and seeing her taken to the 'prison', and escaping to go find InuYasha, and Kanaye finding him instead, and stealing the Shikon Shards from him. "After that, I went to try and find you guys…and…here I am…"

Sango opened a small flask of water and gave it to Shippo who drank greedily. The poor kitsune had been through enough.

InuYasha then spoke. "Shippo, you know where Kagome is being kept, right?" Shippo looked up at him, and nodded. "You have to show us where she is, are you strong enough to do that?" InuYasha growled quickly. Shippo nodded again and said, "Don't worry, I left a trail of my mushrooms to lead us back." and stood up, wobbling slightly, from Sango's arms. He quickly climbed up to InuYasha's shoulder, and pointed him slightly eastward. "There, that's where I left my last mushroom." InuYasha looked at him from the corner of his eye, and said, "You're pretty brave, for a squirrel." Shippo opened his mouth to yell at InuYasha for calling him a squirrel, but then realized that he had come to about as close as anything to having a compliment out of him.

"Are you guys ready?" InuYasha said sharply, looking back at Sango and Miroku, who were back on Kirara. "Yes," came the reply. InuYasha turned to look ahead of him, the day beginning to wake up slowly, the first few rays of light appearing slowly, spreading a golden light around everything. InuYasha felt the heat on his face, and a new sense of confidence and hope rise up in his heart. "Let's go!" he yelled, and started running again, readying himself for the battle that was about to come.

Kikyo woke up, feeling a sharp pain emitted from her shoulder. She looked down, and saw an arrow piercing her shoulder. She tried to move to take the arrow out, but she couldn't move her arm, she was paralyzed. She looked around herself; she seemed to be lying on a table of a sort, 4 pentacles surrounding her, almost hovering in the air. She tried to use her spiritual powers to unbind her from this spell, but she felt weak, she didn't have enough energy. _"Where's Kagome?"_ she thought, knowing that it was Kagome's arrow that piercing her skin, holding this spell against her.

She closed her eyes, and tried to concentrate. Because they both shared the same soul, they had a connection that Kikyo knew could be used to break through to her. _"Kagome…"_ she thought. _"Kagome, listen to me. I know your soul is still inside of you; Kanaye has not been able to rip that out. You can fight him, you have to, or else everything will be destroyed. You have to take control of yourself again. You are strong enough to do that, I know, I have felt your power. Your soul is so pure it cannot be broken and controlled like it seems it is. It's inside of you, waiting for you to realize your true potential. You have to reach deep inside of yourself to do so, but it can be done. You have to wake up, and break free of Kanaye, lest everything in this world is doomed."_

She couldn't feel if there had been contact, everything was too hazy. _"For the first time, Kagome's soul seems to be confused."_ Kikyo thought. Suddenly she felt a dark presence stand above her. "K-Kanaye…" she said, hate boiling up in her chest. "Heh, you still manage to speak, I'm surprised. And wow, you even managed to flinch at my voice; I see your powers didn't get affected as badly as I'd thought." Kanaye smirked sarcastically.

Kikyo could feel her fingers trembling with anger, and could almost sense movement in them. Kanaye moved his spear above her, and said quietly, "It's about time for you to die Kikyo; you've annoyed me ever since you came back to life. Well, now with your powers, the Shikon Jewel will surely be complete, and **my** power will be unsurpassable."

Kikyo could feel the jewel beginning to drain her power out of her, bit by bit. _"If I could just purify the jewel…"_ she thought. Suddenly she felt her arm move slightly, and taking advantage of it, shot it up and grabbed the jewel in her hand. Instantly, the jewel started to lose the darkness clouding inside of it, a bright pink light surrounding it. Kanaye yelled angrily and wrenched it out of her hand. Kikyo noticed that he seemed to be bleeding from his stomach; a small patch of blood stained his kimono at his midsection. _"That's his weakness,"_ she realized.

"You bitch…" he said with a calm fury. Kikyo could feel almost her entire body become free of the spell, and stood up, steadying herself against the table. She didn't have her arrows, but that didn't matter. Her spiritual powers could just be enough to destroy him. "You think you can defeat me so easily? Heh, we'll see about that." Kanaye said, pointing his spear at her. He gave it a swing, and 10 dark daggers were shot out, heading straight for Kikyo. Kikyo quickly placed her hands together, and looked straight at the daggers. Just before reaching her, a pinkish force field appeared, blocking them off.

Kanaye grimaced and lifted his spear, a cloud of smoke escaping it, which quickly turned into the crimson snake that he had tried to use against InuYasha once before. The snake rushed towards Kikyo, opening its jaws wide and narrowing its dark eyes. Kikyo looked at it calmly, crossed her hands quickly at the wrists, and then separated them with a great force, sending two streaks of light at the snake. The streaks cut the snake in its middle, and caused it to disappear in a cloud of smoke.

By now Kanaye was furious. _"How can this woman have so much of her spiritual power regenerate itself! I thought Kagome's spell would bind her completely!"_ he thought.

Kikyo stared at him, waiting for his next move. Though she didn't look it, she was almost exhausted from her efforts. She knew that she could barely block off another attack.

Kanaye could sense the miko's weakness. He smiled sadistically. "Growing tired, are you?" he asked tauntingly. Kikyo stared at him, breathing slightly heavily, but otherwise saying nothing. He raised his spear above his head, and 3 dark balls formed out of nothing. "Heh, see if you can block **this**." he said, sending them straight to Kikyo. She closed her eyes, waiting to use the remainder of her energy on creating a barrier. After that, she didn't know if she would be able to hold her own again…

Suddenly the wall crashed down. The dust cleared, and InuYasha, Sango, Miroku and Shippo could be seen. _"InuYasha…"_ thought Kikyo. "You BASTARD!" snarled InuYasha, raising Tessiaga in the air and yelling "KAZE NO KIZU!" Kanaye looked back just in time to see the 5 familiar streaks of light formed by the attack being shot at him. He jumped out of the way, soaring into the air for a second but not putting his back to Kikyo. He stayed up in the air for a second, smirking. "So, you've come to save your dear Kagome, have you?" InuYasha growled ferociously and yelled, "WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER?" Kanaye smirked and landed on the ground, setting his spear in front of him.

"Why, you don't have to ask twice." he said, and gave a small swish with his spear. Suddenly, Kagome materialized in front of them.

"KAGOME!" yelled InuYasha. Kagome stared at him almost lifelessly, the light and buoyancy normally seen in her eyes gone. Kanaye pointed his spear at InuYasha. "Kill him." he said.

Kagome took her bow and aimed.

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**Wow, loooooong one! I hope you liked it, I'm sorry I couldn't get it up yesterday, I was at my sister's ballet show and I was dead tired when I got home. **

**I liked the long mono dialogue bits I put in. It's nice to hear what the characters are thinking about from time to time. And (surprisingly) they were fun to write…00. haha.**

**Anyhow, we'll see what happens next TOMORROW! Sorry, but I can't write forever. Buh-bye for now.  
**-DragonofDoom3-


	8. Kagome's Choice

**Angsty chapter…what can I say, listening to Evanescence messes with my feelings…--'. **

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Everything seemed to freeze. The wind, breathing, feeling, life seemed to freeze in that millisecond. Kagome looked at InuYasha, her soft hands tense of the handle of the bow, her face a pale remembrance of its former owner. Her eyes were what surprised him the most. They looked like they had no free will in them, no strength, no happiness, nothing, just a deep emptiness. He stood frozen, and suddenly felt like he had been thrown back into a nightmare…back into that memory he had tried time and time again to forget…that day that he had been pinned onto the Sacred Tree by Kikyo. Except it wasn't Kikyo shooting the arrow it was…Kagome. 

Then the millisecond was gone. Kagome let go of the arrow.

InuYasha didn't move. He couldn't. Then he felt it, the sickening sound of the arrow sinking into his skin. He could sense Kagome's spiritual powers, though tainted with evil, in the arrow. But he didn't do anything. He just stood there, staring at the one woman who had managed to get through to his heart after he was sure that it would never feel anything but anger and pain. One word escaped his lips. "Kagome…"

Suddenly something inside of Kagome snapped. She could feel it deep inside her head, a small voice saying softly, then getting louder and louder, _"The fragment, it's inside your body, you have to get it out, The fragment, it's inside your body, you have to get it out, THE FRAGMENT, IT'S INSIDE YOUR BODY, YOU HAVE TO GET IT OUT!"_ She could hear another voice beyond the one that was screaming at her now, saying, "Finish him off Kagome, now." She could feel her hand reach back to take another arrow from out of her quiver. She could see herself take aim, her hand become tight on the bow. But she wasn't going to give in. She wasn't going to let Kanaye take control of her any longer. She knew that the power of the shard was to powerful for her to overcome while Kanaye had control of her spiritual powers. There was only one way to stop all this.

She let go of the bow. It fell to the floor with a loud clatter. She could hear Kanaye say to her from behind, "What are you doing? Finish InuYasha!" She closed her eyes, ignoring him.

She took her arrow, and in one quick motion plunged it into her heart, where she was certain the shard lay.

There was a sudden shock of bright light shot up from the arrow, as the tainted shard became purified from inside of her. The shard shot out of Kagome, and landed on the ground. There was no move made to pick it up.

Kagome instantly felt herself be freed from Kanaye. _"I-InuYasha…I won't hurt you now."_ she thought. She felt almost relieved. But the wound she had inflicted upon herself was taking its toll. Kagome could feel her heart become weaker. She fell to her knees, knowing she was close to death. She could hear Kanaye saying, "Stupid girl, she managed to break free of the shard's control. Heh, but it came with a price." Kagome struggled to hold onto her life, she could almost feel Miroku, Sango and Shippo's shock and sadness. She tried to open her mouth, and tell them not to worry about her, and start worrying about themselves. She tried to call out to InuYasha, but her vocal cords failed her. She closed her eyes, accepting the fact that she was going to die. She knew that she was still clutching the arrow that she had driven into her chest, and she let go, letting her hands drop down to her side. Kagome forced her eyes to open to look at InuYasha for the last time. He was staring at her, his hand on the arrow she had shot into his shoulder, staring at her in a mixture of disbelief and shock. _"I'm…sorry."_ she thought before feeling the quiet cover her mind.

That's when the fury that had InuYasha had been hiding all this time was let loose. He growled with the ferocity of a rabid wolf, and raised Tessiaga right above his head. "KAZE NO KIZU!" he yelled, sending the 5 streaks of light hurling towards Kanaye. But as they reached Kanaye, they turned dark black, and increased in speed and power. Kanaye created a force field just as they were about to reach him, but this new turn of events caught him by surprise. The attack seemed to get to him, his eyes widening as the Kaze no Kizu pushed against his force field, making it weaker. _"So InuYasha's anger has increased his powers to new levels…" _Kanaye thought. He broke the force field, and instead used his own spear to force the attack away. But Kaze no Kizu just formed together to form a large ball and returned to InuYasha's sword.

InuYasha kept his eyes hidden, breathing heavily. _"That bastard…Kagome…"_ He wasn't looking at her, but he could see her image play in his head over and over again. Her soft loving eyes stared at him again in his mind, as they did just before he had died. He almost couldn't completely comprehend it, that Kagome…was dead. "Kanaye…" he said, in a voice that didn't sound completely like his own. "I'm going to pull you apart piece by piece, I'll torture you, I'll make you wish you'd never touched Kagome." Tessiaga started pulsating, waiting for InuYasha to give the word. _"I'll never forgive him."_ thought InuYasha, and raised his sword again. The wind began to swirl around Tessiaga, first slowly, but then gaining momentum. InuYasha raised his head, and looked straight at Kanaye, who looked straight back at him, his cold eyes glaring. _"This hanyou…he seemed pitiful at first, but now…I'm not sure it would be wise to think of him as such. He has power, and now it is beginning to collect inside his soul, and form something greater than any monster I have come across."_

InuYasha watched as the winds collected faster and faster around his sword. He waited until they were at the peak of they're power, and yelled, "KAZE NO KIZU!" Once again the streaks of light, resembling more claws of death now, shot straight at Kanaye. Kanaye jumped out of the way of them, instead of deciding to block him off. He stared down menacingly at InuYasha as he floated in the air, and made a quick cutting movement with his spear, sending 10 of his black energy balls. InuYasha watched from his position on the ground as the balls were thrown at him. InuYasha knew that it was time to try Dragon-Scaled Tessiaga. Tessiaga changed its colour and texture rapidly to fit its name, and just as the energy balls approached him, he raised his sword in position to suck them in.

_"I won't let you down Kagome."_ he thought.

Tessiaga started shining brilliantly, and suddenly all the energy balls became sucked into Tessiaga. It began pulsing, the power of the balls swarming inside of it, slowly becoming part of the sword. InuYasha watched with surprise as Tessiaga's form changed, and it turned into a dark metal. He could feel the power surging through his hands, his mind, his heart.

He could feel Tessiaga urging him on to unleash its new found power, pulsating frantically. InuYasha raised Tessiaga once more, feeling his entire energy blend into Tessiaga's, forming an invincible power. Tessiaga began to glow with a soft light, know that the time was near to fight with all that it could give. To fight for all that InuYasha loved.

To Be Continued…

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**Waaaaaa, it's 10:27 p.m. and I'm really tired...I know this part is sad, and I tried not to leave it at too bad a cliffhanger, but I swear I'm DEAD TIRED. I'm really getting excited about this story, I actually can't wait to get going on the next part, so you can be assured I'll keep posting. See ya tomorrow! **


	9. Rage

**Sorry I didn't write yesterday, it was the last day of school, and I was so busy celebrating I totally forgot to post up the new story! Anyhow, here it is, hope you like it!

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InuYasha stared up at Kanaye with a fury never known to him before. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins, the blood pounding in his head. He raised Tessiaga in its blackened state, glowing brighter by the second, and yelled, "KONGUSHOHA!" The diamond shards that flew out Tessiaga were now dark and glinting, flying at an incredible speed. Kanaye once again created his force field, stopping every last one of them. He laughed.

"Still using those old tricks InuYasha? Can't you realize that my force field is impossible to break? Or is your desire to avenge that woman so great that it blinds you completely?" Whatever fear had been in him before of InuYasha was gone, replaced with his usual pride and taunting.

InuYasha could feel the dark rage he had inside of him rising. "YOU BASTARD! I WILL KILL YOU, NO MATTER WHAT!" He jumped up into the air, raising Tessiaga again. "KAZE NO KIZU!" The streaks of light flew like swords of destruction to Kanaye. But he just sliced his spear through the air, sending a shot of light to InuYasha's attack, stopping it completely. But InuYasha wasn't fazed. He sent attack after attack to Kanaye, filled with a ravaged madness. He wanted him dead; he wanted to watch him die. He would avenge Kagome no matter what. He ignored completely Tessiaga's pulsing, telling him to stop, he just concentrating on Kanaye. Kanaye blocked every attack, watching with a pleased expression.

_"He is completely mad with his hate for me. Heh, all this caused by a simple woman. It's amazing, the power of 'love'. If this keeps up, his youkai blood will eventually overtake him, and he will end up destroying himself. I don't even have to do much; just block every one of his measly attacks. He's even ignoring his own sword's warnings, the fool. It's a rather sad way to die, really…" _

"Come on InuYasha, hate me, Kagome's dead and there's nothing you can do about it. You couldn't even protect her; you're just a pathetic hanyou, and everyone you care about will die." Kanaye said tauntingly. InuYasha continued with his onslaught of attacks, the anger bubbling in him like a volcano that was about to erupt. "SHUT UP!" he yelled before sending another wave of Kaze no Kizu. He couldn't feel his body tiring, he wasn't aware of the pulsing coming deep from within his heart. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

From the ground Sango, Miroku and Shippo watched worriedly. "We have to stop him!" said Sango frantically. "He'll transform if he carries on like this!" "But how? Kagome was the only one who could stop his attacks before, and now..." said Shippo sadly. "There has to be another way!" said Miroku quickly. "It's his sanity that's on the brink; if we just can find a way to call it back…"

Suddenly InuYasha gave a ferocious roar. He landed back on the ground, and dropped Tessiaga. His eyes grew red and sharp, dark purple stripes appeared on the sides of his cheeks, his fangs grew long, his nails extended and sharpened. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" he yelled, jumping up to attack Kanaye, his bare hands outstretched, ready to kill. Kanaye smirked, and sent a row of black daggers straight to InuYasha. InuYasha dodged most of them, except for one that hit him on the side of his chest, forcing him back onto the ground. The dagger hissed and melted, revealing to be a poison that entered InuYasha's body through his wound. But InuYasha ignored it and once again jumped to attack. Kanaye didn't attack him, but waited until he was right in front of him. "Now you can go join your dear Kagome in the afterlife!" he said, and just before InuYasha struck him with his claws, he impaled him directly with his spear. He then tore the spear out of InuYasha's body, and hit him with such extreme force that it sent him flying backwards with such extreme force that he created an imprint in the floor when he crashed. Kanaye waited for a second to see if InuYasha would stand up again. He didn't stir.

"Is he dead?" asked Shippo worriedly. Sango shook her head. "I-I don't know…" she said softly. Miroku ran quickly to InuYasha, holding his staff carefully, ready to be of use. Sango took a step towards him but Miroku quickly whipped his head over his shoulder and yelled, "Sango, stay back! We don't know if he's dead or not, but I'm going to check. Whatever you do, don't come towards me." Sango nodded, and hung back, but she grabbed her boomerang, ready to throw it at a moment's notice. _"I don't want to treat InuYasha this way…like he's some sort of rabid animal. Oh Kagome, if only this hadn't happened." _She shut her eyes, knowing that they would linger onto the battlefield were Kagome's body lay. Somehow it hadn't been disturbed by any of InuYasha's attacks, and she looked so calm she appeared to be sleeping. But Sango knew the cold truth. So she watched Miroku move carefully to InuYasha's side, and kneel down. He moved his hand carefully over InuYasha, watching to see if there was some movement. There was none. He checked InuYasha's pulse, waiting for a second.

Kanaye watched the monk, knowing very well that the youkai wasn't dead. _"Pugh, my spear obviously didn't kill him…I thought it was filled with enough poison to kill 1,000 men. Oh well, he's near death anyhow; there's no point in trying to throw a final blow. He's probably in excruciating pain, as the poison courses through his body. It's better to watch him suffer."_

Miroku could feel it, a light pulse, keeping the blood circulating through InuYasha's body. "He's not dead!" he yelled over to Sango. "But his pulse is very weak…I don't know how long he's going to survive. We-" He was cut off short by a sudden growl from InuYasha. InuYasha struck out his hands to attack Miroku, but was block by Miroku's staff. _"Shit,"_ thought Miroku, _"His youkai blood is still controlling him!"_ He jumped away from InuYasha, holding his staff defensively. "InuYasha, please, remember who you are!" he yelled. But InuYasha ignored him, and looked up again at Kanaye. He readied himself to attack, but was held back by Miroku. "InuYasha, if you try to attack him again you'll die!" he told him, struggling to hold him from fighting Kanaye. InuYasha gave a snarl and slashed at Miroku, leaving three gashes across Miroku's chest, and jumped into the air in Kanaye's direction. "Houshi-sama!" yelled Sango, rushing up to Miroku, who was beginning to bleed badly. She held him up as he said, "H-he's out of control, you have to stop him…" Miroku said weakly. "But Miroku, you're seriously wounded! I can't leave you!" said Sango worriedly. Miroku shook his head, "Things will get worse if he is not stopped now." He said. Sango let go of him, and stood up. She grabbed her boomerang and threw it, yelling, "Hiraikotsu!" The boomerang whirled to InuYasha, who spotted it coming towards him out of the corner of his eye. He growled and punched it back to Sango, and continued flying onwards to Kanaye. The boomerang hit her directly in the stomach, taking the wind out of her and sending her skidding hardly across the ground. "SANGO!" said Shippo fearfully, seeing everyone around him getting hurt. "Is there no way to stop him?" he squeaked.

Suddenly he saw a young woman cross the battlefield, and bend over by Kagome's body. _"Kikyo…?"_ thought Shippo, confused. _"What's she doing?"

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**Ok, this is one of the last cliffhangers, I PROMISE! I hope it didn't get too confusing; trying to describe a battle is difficult! But anyhow, I hoped you enjoyed it, and I'll try to post another chapter soon!**


	10. In the Land Between Death and Life

**Ok, next chapter! Not much to say here, just…um…ENJOY…right.**

**Oh wait, there is something to say. Another little thing from the manga…**

**When Kikyo was severely hurt by Naraku, just by stealing ordinary souls wasn't enough to keep her alive. So Kikyo took Midoriko's soul, the soul of the priestess who had many years ago sacrificed herself to destroy a bunch of youkai by taking their souls into her own soul and forcing them out her body. That group of souls is the Shikon no Tama. Weeeeeeell that's the soul that Kikyo has been 'living on' for a while **

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Kikyo knelt next to Kagome's lifeless body. She put her hand lightly over Kagome's forehead, searching for…it. The only thing that could keep alive the faint glow of hope that Kagome could be saved. Kikyo closed her eyes, searching deep inside the girl that used to be Kagome. _"Though Kagome looks dead, she is not. Not entirely. Her thoughts, hopes, dreams, are still inside of her, meaning that she has not truly departed for the next world. If I can just find that small bit of her that could bring her back to life…"_

Kikyo kept searching through the fragments of Kagome's life. But one thing surprised her. Kagome…the girl who had once been a shining light of radiance and purity, was not there. Her thoughts were darkened, like the petals of a black rose, her hopes empty like the wind that crosses over a graveyard, her dreams…lost. What could have possibly happened to Kagome that would have made her so? _"Kagome was controlled by Kanaye, therefore everything she did was not her fault. Is it that, even with that knowledge, she blames herself for having caused this?" _

Suddenly she felt it, Kagome's soul. It had a soft warmth around it, like the last ray of hope in a sea of poison. But it was fading fast, and Kikyo knew that she had little time to spare to do this. She concentrated, and whispered "Kagome."

The light shined over Kagome's face, causing her to open her eyes. Everything blurred as a fresh set of tears set in over the old ones. She didn't care where she was, or why she was there, she could only thinking of her very last memories. _"InuYasha…I'm sorry. I was weak; I couldn't stop the shard controlling me. I'm so…sorry. I hurt you, I was ready to kill you at Kanaye's word. I…"_

She didn't want to think anymore, she wanted to be numb. She knew that she was dead, but she accepted the fact almost readily. She had never felt this way before; a sense of the end, a sense of nothing left. It was an alien sensation for her.

Kagome sat up, instinctively taking note of where she was. She seemed to be on a long, grassy slope, small dandelions sprinkled across it. There was a clear, blue sky stretched on forever above her, not a cloud in the sky. On both sides of the slope a deep forest surrounded her. Suddenly, she heard someone call her name.

"Kagome…"

She looked down to the base of the slope. For a second she couldn't believe her eyes. "I-InuYasha…?" she said softly, staring at the hanyou that was waving at her. He beckoned to her, and yelled, "Kagome, come down!"

For a second Kagome forgot all her fears, all her pain, everything. She stood up, and ran down the hill to her beloved InuYasha. She rushed into his arms, her tears of sadness now turning into tears of joy. "InuYasha," she whispered, "I-I…"

"Shhh, don't say anything Kagome. It's ok now, everything's gonna be ok." said InuYasha, softly stroking her hair. "InuYasha, I was so…scared. But you're here now, and I feel safe again." said Kagome, looking up into InuYasha's face.

He looked at her kindly, and taking her hand into his, said "We need to go now Kagome." Kagome looked at him, confused. "Go…where?" she asked. "You'll see," said InuYasha, and began leading her into the forest. Suddenly Kagome heard a voice behind her. "Don't go with him Kagome, he's not real."

She turned around, and found herself facing Kikyo. "It's the final step to complete the death cycle; one's final wish will be granted as their soul goes to heaven. Yours, apparently, is to see InuYasha."

Kagome stared at Kikyo. _"You mean…that's not really InuYasha?"_ thought Kagome. She looked back, but saw no one. The feeling of emptiness returned. InuYasha was gone. She returned her look to Kikyo and asked, in a strange voice, "What are you doing here, why are you telling me this?"

"You are needed, Kagome. InuYasha's grief for your death has turned into madness, and he has transformed into a monster. You need to purify him before he destroys himself." Kikyo said matter-of-factly.

"But…why can't you do that yourself? You are more powerful than I am." said Kagome uncertainly. _"Besides...most of my powers have been sucked into the Shikon no Tama."_ she thought. But Kikyo continued. "Most people say that my powers are stronger than yours, and they are, to an extent. InuYasha can't be stopped by me; he must be stopped by you. Only one with a pure heart could do such."

There was a silence between the two mikos. _"InuYasha…I don't want you to hurt yourself."_ thought Kagome. She looked down at her hands for a second, blood still stained them. She noticed that the slope was slowly disappearing into a quiet blackness, the only light being the light that surrounded her and Kikyo. "Well, are you going to help him, or let your soul go to the afterlife?" she asked. There was no choice there; Kagome already knew where her loyalty lay. "I must go to InuYasha, I can't let all of this happen." she said. Kikyo gave a nod, and started walking into the darkness. Kagome followed, unsure of what would happen next.

Suddenly, they stopped at a large, oval-shaped portal. "Here is the real bridge between death and life. To cross, you will need one thing." Kikyo put her hand on her chest, and closed her eyes. Suddenly, a bright orb seemed to form on her chest, growing brighter and brighter as it became clearer. Kikyo opened her eyes, and the orb floated towards Kagome, and settled in her hands. "This is Midoriko's soul, a soul so powerful it can bring back life to the dead. Once it becomes part of your soul, you will be able to cross the bridge."

Kikyo gave Kagome one last look, and disappeared into the portal. Kagome looked at the shining orb in her hand, and placed her hands to her chest. Suddenly, the orb sank into her body, and at that moment, Kagome felt as if all her feelings, all her happiness; her true nature had been given back to her. She felt as if her spiritual powers were slowly returning to her, and felt hope return to her.

When everything had seemed as if it was over, Kagome knew that it was not so. There was still something left, like an unfinished chore. Except that the 'chore', was to save someone's sanity, and she was the only person to do it. Kagome prayed silently that she would have the strength to do it, and stepped through the portal.

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**Sorry this came late, I've been busy being 'social'. or so my mom wants me to be. lol. **


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